Final Fantasy 16 is finally almost here on PC and developer Square Enix has shared exactly when players can start playing the role-playing game.Square Enix confirmed the launch times for each region in an X/Twitter post, below, across its September 17 release date. Both previously released expansions for Final Fantasy 16, Echoes of the Fallen and The Rising Tide, will be released simultaneously but cost extra.The RPG has plenty of content on its own, however, as players are thrust into a world where powerful elemental monsters (dare we say summons) live within select vessels known as Dominants, and players, as protagonist Clive Rosfield, must join forces with or take down each and every one.Not long to go. Read to discover when Final Fantasy XVI launches on PC in your region. #FF16 pic.twitter.com/y03TqZoVyF— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) September 4, 2024 Final Fantasy 16 PC Release TimesLos Angeles – 7am PDTNew York – 10am PDTBrasília – 11am BRTLondon – 3pm BSTBerlin – 4pm CESTHong Kong – 10pm HKTTokyo – 11pm JSTSydney – 12 midnight AEST (September 18)Wellington – 2am NZST (September 18)Final Fantasy 16 – Story Trailer ScreenshotsFinal Fantasy 16 arrives on PC after lots if conflicting information from Square Enix and a plea from producer Naoki Yoshida asking players not to make offensive mods. The original reveal trailer claimed blatantly the game is “also available on PC,” and while Square Enix mysteriously scrapped this claim soon after, its status as a PlayStation 5 exclusive was brought into question again in November 2022 when an advertisement for the PS5’s DualSense controller said Final Fantasy 16 would only be a “PS5 exclusive for six months.”Yoshida himself then denied a PC version existed at all. “Nobody said a word about a PC version releasing,” he said, incorrectly. “Why is it like a PC version is releasing six months later? Don’t worry about that, buy a PS5. Sorry, I went overboard. We did our best, so please look forward to it.”Yoshida then admitted in February 2023 it’s true that “Final Fantasy 16 is a six-month limited time exclusive on the PS5” but “the PC version will not come out in half a year.” This is because the team wouldn’t be able to start development until the PS5 version launched in June that year.Finally, however, the role-playing game was announced for PC in August 2024, with the aforementioned September 17 release date. This came after Final Fantasy 16 failed to meet the expectations of Square Enix alongside other PlayStation exclusives including Foamstars and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, prompting a shift to an aggressive multiplatform strategy going forward.Yoshida made clear in August that Square Enix would be doubling down on Xbox releases following this change in strategy, while Final Fantasy 16 director Hiroshi Takai said future games in the franchise would likely come to PC on launch.In our 9/10 review of the PS5 version, IGN said: “Final Fantasy 16 is certainly a departure from what fans may expect out of a Final Fantasy game, but its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer.”Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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